Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Stay at Home Order permits Illinois residents to leave their residence to perform essential activities, including boating and fishing, so long as residents comply with these guidelines. These guidelines apply to recreational boating and fishing on all waters within Illinois, both public and private...

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) today released new instructions for 1099 workers who have lost work due to COVID-19. Workers who believe they may be eligible for new federal benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, must first apply for regular unemployment insurance before applying for benefits under PUA when a new application portal opens on May 11, 2020 via the IDES website...

"I want local citizens to be aware that IDNR has finally added to their list of open facilities in the 51st District. I'm very pleased that Weldon Springs and Moraine View are now open and have been added to the list of available spaces...

"I'm glad the university consented to my request to make more park space available to the people of Piatt County and central Illinois. Forcing so many people into such a small area with a single trail head entrance while restricting access to the acres upon acres of space throughout the rest of the park just didn't make sense. I thank the University...

“I'm glad that the Governor has listened to my recommendations about finally allowing important preventive medical procedures like mammograms, colonoscopies, cancer surgeries, and heart and stroke screenings to proceed, and also for his willingness to reopen some of the state parks - which is long overdue. But I remain baffled as to why he continues to oppose phased regional openings in areas of the state where there are little to no known positive cases of COVID-19...

In response to news that the Pritzker administration is releasing a number of felons from Illinois prisons, including convicted murderers, State Senator Chapin Rose and several of his colleagues sent a letter to the Governor today asking for answers.

In another effort to provide timely and accurate information to the public, Coronavirus.illinois.gov has been launched to centralize the breaking updates from state government, prevention and preparation tips, frequently asked questions and resources from public health experts...

Over 100 high school students from across the 51st Senate District were in Springfield this week to try their hand at legislating, all as part of State Senator Chapin Rose’s (R-Mahomet) annual Youth Advisory Council program...

“I recently had a very interesting meeting with Urbana campus Chancellor Robert Jones and Provost Andreas Cangellaris where they brought up efforts in other states to create ‘Rainmaker Funds’ to recruit the next generation of top-tier research faculty talent. They impressed upon me the enormous start-up costs involved in such world-class recruitment efforts due to the lab equipment necessary to get people interested...

“There’s a lot that I agreed with him on, and there were certainly some worthy priorities in this budget, but the Democrats just passed one of the biggest income tax hikes in state history in 2017, and it’s still not enough....

“Flightstar is a major local employer whose presence has also helped us to increase the number of daily flights into and out of Champaign – this bill is extremely important to keeping them, and helping them grow, right here in central Illinois...

“Governor Pritzker gave a good speech laying out his vision for Illinois. But, after the much vaunted summer/fall property tax relief task force empowered by the Democrat majorities imploded, I definitely would have liked to hear more specifics from the Governor on the issue of property tax relief for working families...

The Illinois Senate has advanced important legislation to protect at least 150 local high-paying jobs and the number of flights into and out of Champaign-Urbana, according to State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet)...

Three LeRoy brothers who gave their lives in World War II will be honored on November 11th with the dedication of the Gaultney Brothers Memorial Highway, according to State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet)...